Doctor Latchkey
Doctor Wesley Latchkey is the headmaster and literacy teacher with the Traveling University. Hailing from Mureth, he has spent the last five years traveling Geth, teaching and avoiding being shot. He he has spent the past year in Guardian Vale, and is employed as an agent of the Circle. Overview In Guardian Vale, Latchkey can often be found either in his cart at the Circle's camp, or in Tavern Town teaching lessons. His students mainly consist of the children and merchants of Tavern Town, although adventurers are not uncommon sights in his history and literacy classes. His work also extends to providing medical care to those who need it, and his students and patients are many and varied in their alignments and affiliations. Personality The Doctor enjoys his creature comforts, and thus in the harsh environment of Guardian Vale can often be quite grumpy. This is exacerbated by the magical pressure the Vale exerts on him. However, to those who know him, the grumpiness belies a warm heart, fiercely devoted to the Oath he swore to provide medical care to all. He has a sarcastic sense of humour, and will be the first to admit his mistakes. Deep down, the Doctor is quite a sad soul, and buries this in his work, and also in alcohol and tobacco. The deaths of those he could not save still weigh on him heavily. History Early Life Latchkey was born in Mureth to John and Anna Latchkey, nee Rossi. Anna Latchkey died in childbirth, and it fell to John to raise both Latchkey boys. They were homeschooled by John, until such time as they were ready for university. The Latchey family were family friends with General Maximilian West, and it was through him that Wesley Latchkey met Lorelei West, to whom he would later get engaged. Despite their young age, Arthur Latchkey never really forgave his brother for their mother's death. As John Latchkey aged, he began developing dementia, which, by the time Wesley graduated from university, had worsened to the point where he was barely conscious. Beacon College Years At the age of 22, Latchkey enroled in Beacon College as an undergraduate studying history. After completing his degree he continued on to complete a doctorate in anatomy and medicine. As Beacon College did not accept female students, he began teaching Lorelei in secret, passing on everything he learned to her. During this time, they became very close. Latchkey was poised to graduate in 645 MR, at the age of 29, but after completing his exams, he sought to publish his thesis on the importance of free universal education. The Dean and Archchancellor saw this as a threat to the College and asked Latchkey not to publish the work. Latchkey refused, and was expelled, the night before the graduation ceremony. Despite not recieving his degree, Latchkey still took the title of Doctor, mainly to spite Beacon College. The Traveling University At the insistence of Lorelei, the Doctor decided to take what he learned from the College and spread it as far as he could. He purchased a cart and a donkey, and left Mureth papered in the abstract from his thesis. Initially, Latchkey was the only staff member of the University as it travelled into Thaedia. He sought patronage from a wealthy lord named Ziz, but Ziz quickly grew upset that the Doctor was teaching peasants "things beyond their station", and Latchkey quickly moved on. He spent a while with several inneepers as his patrons, teaching in taprooms and bars, but he was never permitted to stay for very long. The University's first real success was in Frael, where it settled for a year. Latchkey would, every week, enter the slave pits in the nation's desert centre, posing as a simple medicine man. He would sit with the slaves and secretly teach them world history, folk stories and, importantly, literacy. This carried on until the guards began to suspect he was not all he seemed, and it became harder for him to access the pits. Eventually, he thought it best to escape, feeling he had at least sown some seeds among the slaves. Still alone, the Doctor next travelled to Arkhos. Although more accomodating than Frael, Arkhos was, like Thaedia, hostile to Latchkey's methods of teaching, and his philosophy of teaching pro bono. He spent a while in Arkhos, but was moved about considerably. While set up in the north-west of Arkhos, Latchkey met two youths named Gwain and Deonynn, and, though unsure of their circumstances or origin, he invited them to travel with him. It so happened that both of them could read, and Deonynn knew an awful lot about Arkhosi history, while Gwain had a fascination with the stars. They offered their services as teachers, and the party began slowly moving south. Guardian Vale While teaching in the Crosslands, the University met and took on a vagrant named Wally as their mathematics lecturer. Leaving the rest of the University to teach, the Doctor set off Weftward, hoping to find a suitable place to teach. He was ambushed by a band of orcs, but was saved by Gaftvid Kolsson, who accompanied him to Guardian Vale. Soon joined by the rest of his party, the Doctor set himself to gaining the patronage of the Elte, and began his work in the Weft. He quickly established himself as a medical and educational expert, and the University became a fixture in the Vale. His curing of the Mircea Plague, though tinged with tragedy, cemented him as a force in the Vale, and earned him a promotion from Vyrion. Trivia and Rumours *Latchkey's brother is a Spellsword in the Court of Coins. *Lorelei is the captain of the Volunteer Medical Corps, based out of Mureth *The Doctor has been researching who or what Vyrion is, and may have stumbled across an answer. *Latchkey plays the harpsichord and the accordion